Monday, July 20, 2009

Chris Wilcox Signs with the Detroit Pistons

Chris Wilcox (2000-02) has signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons. His new deal is worth $6 million for 2 years. The Detroit Free Press says:

One the major weaknesses of last season's 39-43 squad was a lack of athleticism; other teams were quicker and played above the rim against the Pistons.

Wilcox addresses that -- the 6-foot-10, 235-pounder can pull off some highlight-reel dunks.

The Piston's team blog says that while many people in the league have written Wilcox off, GM Joe Dumars believes that with a fresh start with a young team, he can blossom:

Wilcox carries something of an underachiever label with him to Detroit, which explains why he was still available more than two weeks into free agency and why the Pistons got him for $6 million over two years [...]

But like so many of the players Joe D has picked up in the past and watched thrive in the environment he’s painstakingly created with the Pistons, Wilcox has been mired in situations that would have had to improve by half to be considered mediocre. Consider this: In seven seasons in the NBA, he’s yet to finish one of them with a winning team. The Clippers won 27, 28 and 37 games in his first three seasons, then traded him midway through the next year to Seattle, which won 35, 31 and 20 in his three seasons there. Last season was split between the relocated Thunder and the woebegone Knicks, both of them speeding toward the lottery.

Not only has Wilcox never appeared in a playoff game, he’s never been on a team that threw it up on opening night dreaming the playoffs were a possibility.